The Informant: This Conditioner is a Lifeline for Curly Hair – And It’s Less Than $20
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Behind every great set of curls is someone who’s survived a war. A years-long process of trial-and-error. An awkward phase that can follow you into your 20s. The makeover scene from The Princess Diaries that scarred a generation.
Put another way, a lot of guys don’t grow up knowing what to do about their curly hair. Black and brown people have their own hair rituals, but even those have their limitations; my Caribbean mom used to instruct me to sleep with my hair in a Key Food bag filled with coconut oil, and my nightmares all took place in the “Ketchup Song” music video. Coconut oil’s not a bad idea in general — it was just a little off for me. As a teenager, I used to wash the coconut oil from my hair before school, and it would stay sleek and tame through first period. By lunchtime, though, it would spring back to its cotton ball texture.
The reason? It turns out that I have low-porosity hair — or, hair that doesn’t readily absorb water and treatments — which was something I figured out during Quarantine 2020, while other people learned to weld, made Grammy-winning albums, or discovered Jesus. The Curly Girl blogs told me to do a porosity test (drop a clean strand of hair in a cup of water; if it sinks to the bottom, you have high-porosity hair, and if it stays on the surface, you have low-porosity hair). My hair was firmly in the latter camp, and through trial and error, I also discovered it was extremely protein-sensitive. Both findings narrowed down my options dramatically, cutting out a vast majority of the popular SheaMoisture products.
But if you’re a protein-sensitive curly with low-porosity strands, like me: TGIN’s Triple Moisture Conditioner is by far the best thing I’ve used. It’s been my go-to for years, in addition to the brand’s Butter Cream leave-in. Each costs less than $16 (nobody needs to break the bank and go the Olaplex/Devacurl route). As a bonus, you’re supporting a Black-owned business, bizarrely uncommon in the Black haircare space.
TGIN’s line also gets the stamp of approval from Valerie O’Brien, a senior master barber at Camera Ready Kutz in Brooklyn, and also my barber, which makes me feel better about recommending it to people with other curl types. (Mine is looser, but the company markets it as appropriate for all hair.) But the Triple Moisture conditioner in particular is made with ingredients that are saviors for nearly anyone with perpetually dry locks — namely coconut oil, honey, seed oil, shea butter, rosemary extract, and argan oil. It certainly changed the game for me. My hair feels moisturized for the entire day, and looks almost freshly conditioned after I squeeze in some lukewarm water on day two. The leave-in provides great hold, too, meaning I can avoid the hassle of gel or mousse.
So consider this your moment: drop a hair in some water. TGIN’s a pot of gold on the other side of a porosity test.
TGIN Triple Moisture Replenishing Conditioner, 13oz
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